Loving Ellie

Most days the kids don't bother much with Ellie, but on this day she decided to give puppy kisses and the kids enjoyed loving her right back...


she didn't even mind when Sam got a bit rough. That's when I stopped the video to settle him down, which he did. Then this little love fest went on and on!

My Birthday Adventure

Ok, so I ran away from home for my birthday.  But I had to come back... and then it was my real birthday and the kids now expect that even Mama & Daddy should have a Birthday Adventure for their birthday. So for my birthday adventure we went to a children's musuem...

We played with the trains...

then rode the ferry...

went to Joe's Crab Shack (because I insist on having shrimp on my birthday)
that has an indoor playground (because we have kids and it was cold that day)

On the way back to the ferry we rode this ferry up and down 17 million times so that every combination of who got to push the buttons and who got to be steer could be accomplished.  I didn't know that elevators had steering wheels, but this one did! We had quite an adventure on that elevator!

By then I was ready to claim my birthday wish and crawl into bed with my book, which I did and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about it...Happy Birthday to me!

I got a message I didn't expect

Life in Spite of Me - Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice 
Kristen Jane Anderson with Tricia Goyer

A few weeks ago I heard Kristen's story on the radio and so when I saw this book I wanted to read it.  Here is a link to an excerpt from the book.

Her story is amazing, inspirational, and a miracle.   It is a story of how a seemingly normal teenager can go so far down that there seems to be no way out.  It is a story of a miracle and of how God saves, restores, and uses someone for His purposes.

There are many messages in this book, including:  hope for those suffering from depression, a light for those who are contemplateing suicide, and inspiration for those seeking a closer relationship with God.  It is this final message that touched me in a way I did not expect.  I originally wanted to read the book because I thought it might help me better understand teenage depression so that I could better help some teens in my life. 

What I found was an inspiration to grow closer to God...she writes "I need to grow up and be more intentional about my life. I need to focus on God more and start doing things more his way."  Don't we all need to be more intentional and more focused about growing closer to God.  I got a message I didn't expect to find when I picked up this book, and just I love how God works that way!


Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

We ran away from home

For my birthday this year I wanted to do something different. We have established a tradition with the kids that on their birthdays we have a "Birthday Adventure", and I thought for my birthday it would be fun to run away from home. Or at least go away for a couple days with no kids! So I did, and I took my good friend Monjetta with me to a hotel with an ocean view. Good thing we got the oceanview room because it was a cold, windy weekend and almost too cold to be out on the beach for very long. Anyway, we had a delightful weekend and here are some of the photos I took...

I never was a morning person, but at the beach getting up to see the sunrise is a must!

Stormy weather up the coast makes for a cold windy day, but the surf was fun to watch!



Even the seagulls had trouble flying into the wind.



All ready to go out.  We felt like snowmen trying to lounge on the beach!!

Being at the beach in February made me desperately want to rent one of these beach houses
for a week in the summer.  Just imagine literally living right on the beach... 
I will let you know what it is like, we will be spending a week in one of these beach houses in August!

More snow...

After growing up on the Canadian prairies I can truly appreciate a mild winter.  And found out that I really don't mind winter too much when it only snows twice and the snow only lasts for a day or so.  We had a little snow today...

Some things are pretty in the snow...

and some things are hilarous! Like a lab-mix puppy plowing her face through the snow!

Please let me in, I have played in the snow for a really long time
and I am now really, really tired and ready to nap for four hours!

A ring that links two delightful stories

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

SNEAK PEEK!!! Click here to download the first chapters of this book!

The book revolves around a ring, first given to Lady Jane in the 16th Century and then found by another Jane in the 21st Century.  It is certainly a captivating story and will keep your attention all the way through to the end.  The story is a delightful fictional escape into several love stories that are all touched by the ring and all end differently...

It is written as two separate stories with the common link being the ring.  The ring plays an even bigger role in the present day story as the character gains strength and individuality from her journey to discover who the ring originally belonged to.  The link from past to present was intriguing but both stories were fantastic and could have each been a great novel all on their own.  I tend to prefer a historical story and preferred those portions of this book and wanted more of that story.

Although I am certainly not a writer and have no idea how to develop a story I found myself distracted by thinking how I would have written the story instead of how it was actually presented.    For example, as I was reading portions of the Lady Jane's story I would become annoyed when it suddenly jumped to the present day.  Then I would get into the present day Jane's story and be annoyed when it jumped back to the 16th century.  I truly loved both stories but became impatient when one was temporarily put on hold. Maybe I am the only one that this bothered!  Remember the movie The Red Violin?  I really really loved that movie but was annoyed whenever it jumped to the present day - hmmm maybe it is just me!
Even with the slight annoyances this was a lovely book and I certainly recommend it for fun and quick light reading.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a complimentary copy of this book as part of their BloggingForBooks.org book review program.

too funny - dancing

I have no idea how this even started, but I think Daddy and his version of KuFu Fighters had something to do with it...






Carlee pretty much summed it up hahaha I can't stop laughing!
Do you think dance classes would help them not be total nerds when they go to prom?

Grateful for little reminders

My kids say funny stuff everyday, many of which I never get to share because I can't remember how it went by the time I get time to get on the computer.  One of the things I have been doing recently is writing down the funnies when they say it and then putting the paper near the computer to remind me to write a post about it.  This is exactly what happened this morning.  I heard them say something funny so I wrote it down, put the paper by the computer and pretty much forgot about it. 

The day went on and we ended up having an absolute disaster of an afternoon.  It was just one of those days that I could hardly wait for Daddy to get home so I could escape for a few minutes - oh wait, that's right he is away until Friday well isn't that just fantastic, I thought to myself!

So first I am so grateful that I have a wonderful babysitter that was scheduled to be here this evening so she was incredibly helpful tonight.  But I am also grateful for my little note.  Normally once all was quiet I would sit down and probably reflect on what a horrible day we had.  But instead, because I had written a few lines on the paper I am reminded that even though the afternoon was horrible, the morning was quite delightful.

 This is what I wrote down...


Sam (who was speaking in a different voice because he was pretending that it was his stuffed toy dog talking said to Carlee) - OH NO It's an emergency!! There is a big bad monster coming to kill us!!!

Carlee (looks across the room and then says with much tenderness) Oh it's ok little puppy, it is not a monster it is just my brother and he won't kill us. (after a brief pause then she adds) He might bite us, but he definitely won't kill us!


This post is linked up with Heavenly Homemakers Gratituesday